IIIT—Hyderabad, one of the 17 prestigious Universities around the world

Hyderabad, June 4, 2018: International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT-Hyderabad) is one of two from India to be chosen by American payment technology company Ripple for its University Blockchain Research Initiative. The American technology company is partnering with 17 prestigious universities around the world to help shape the workforce of the future.

Ripple’sUniversity Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) is a program comprised ofcollaborative partnerships with leading universities globally to supportacademic research, technical development and innovation in blockchain,cryptocurrency and digital payments.

UBRI islaunching with 17 initial partners. In addition to IIIT-Hyderabad, the listincludes:

AustralianNational University; Delft University of Technology (Netherlands) ; FundaçãoGetulioVargas (Brazil); Haas School of Business, Berkeley; IIT Bombay; KoreaUniversity; McCombs School of Business, UT-Austin; Massachusetts Instituteof Technology (MIT); Princeton ; University College,London; University of Luxembourg; University of Nicosia (Cyprus);University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; University of Oregon; Universityof Pennsylvania and University of Waterloo

Eachuniversity will determine its own research topics and areas of focus. Inaddition to providing a multi-year, multi-million dollar commitment, Ripplewill collaborate with universities by providing subject matter expertise andtechnical resources, as needed.

The initiallaunch partners represent a broad cross section of geographies and markets, aswell as a rich blend of academic disciplines. In addition, Ripple is committedto working with campus initiatives to increase diversity in blockchain,cryptocurrency, FinTech and related fields.

Speaking onthis partnership, Prof P J Narayanan, Director, IIIT-Hyderabad said, “It'sgratifying to see IIIT-H’s research work being recognized through the UBRI,alongside some of the best universities in the world. We have always valuedtheoretical and applied research as well as industry connect from the verybeginning. This program enables both and we are looking forward to contributingto the blockchain area”.

Asglobalization increases, so does the demand for technological solutions andtalent to solve the world’s hardest financial problems. A report from 2017showed that global investment in FinTech companies grew by 11 percent. Inaddition, 4,500 job openings with the terms “blockchain,” “bitcoin” or“cryptocurrency” in the title were posted on LinkedIn this year. That’s anincrease of 151% over the total LinkedIn postings mentioning those terms in2017.

“Academiahas traditionally been a critical driver of technical innovation. TheUniversity Blockchain Research Initiative is an acknowledgment of the vitalimportance of the unique role universities will play in advancing ourunderstanding and application of cryptography and blockchaintechnology. It also speaks to the reality that university graduateswill fuel a continually evolving and maturing financial marketplace andworkforce,” said Eric van Miltenburg, SVP of Global Operations at Ripple. “Muchof the enthusiasm and activity to date around blockchain is disconnected fromreal use cases that result in clear benefits to businesses or civil society.While Ripple won’t dictate research parameters, we are excited to play a rolein helping to support faculty and student-led projects that exploreincreasingly useful applications of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.”